This one's for Les...TELLING IT LIKE IT IS

[THE TABS]

I'm counting my blessings after this one. For some strange reason, this actually feels like a loss to me. I didn't think there was any way possible that a team could score 8 points in less than a minute with no time outs and 80 yards of real estate to cover, but I saw it with my own eyes. After not surrendering a deep ball all game long, we gave up TWO in fifty seconds. It looked like blown coverages on both plays, which is unusual for this group. Thankfully, the offense clutched up after winning the coin toss, and we escaped with the win.

I do have to give Denver their due. In February, there was no doubt in my mind that we were the better team taking the field in New Jersey, and the Hawks exceeded my expectations that day. Seven months later, on this day, I'd have to say that Denver has not only closed the gap, they may have passed us. Every single move they made this past off season has worked out just the way they had hoped. Emmanuel Sanders is a significant upgrade over Eric Decker, and Aqib Talib and Demarcus Ware have provided exactly what they wanted. Both made huge plays to set up their 4th quarter comeback. Right now, I'd give them a slight edge over Cincinnati for AFC supremacy, with the QB being the big difference between the two.

Our offense frustrated me today. In regulation, they played exactly a half a quarter of good football. The rest of the time, they allowed the Broncos to dictate to them. To their credit, they had a good plan and worked it well...keep Russell Wilson contained in the pocket and crowd the box. I expected us to take some more shots down field, but it didn't happen. The one time we did resulted in a touchdown.

We seem to be running Percy Harvin exclusively on screens and crosses. I'm surprised we haven't used him vertically more often, but I feel that's eventually going to come, provided that he can stay on the field for the entire season. Marshawn ran hard, per usual. It may look ugly at times, but I love the fact that we never, ever quit on the run. As David Diehl, Fox color analyst so ELOQUENTLY put it last week (twice), Lynch was our "cowbell" today! :sarcasm_on:

The offensive line continues to struggle in pass protection. Poor Justin Britt had a very long day, attempting to block Von Miller and Demarcus Ware. We have to chip for him a lot more than we did, because he's struggling over there. The pass protection has been an ongoing issue for many years now, and we absolutely can't afford to lose Wilson.

Defensively, I can't complain. With the exception of the final drive, they imposed their will on Denver again. We forced two turnovers, which could have easily been four or five. I found it odd that Earl Thomas's name didn't get called a whole lot today, but then again, neither did the Thomas boys on the other side of the ball.

I have to say, looking at the schedule when it came out, when I saw we were facing three of the best quarterbacks in the league to start the season, I was secretly hoping we could win two out of three, and that's what we have done. Now we get a little break, and our defense should have a much easier time over the next month and a half. We get the bye week to fix some offensive issues, then go beat the hell out of Washington on Monday night. Works for me!

Hawks rule, cuz THE TABS and LES SAID SO!!!!

 

[SeatownJay]

TABS, you really should stick around more.

 

[The Great Hawktini]

I'm counting my blessings after this one. For some strange reason, this actually feels like a loss to me. I didn't think there was any way possible that a team could score 8 points in less than a minute with no time outs and 80 yards of real estate to cover, but I saw it with my own eyes. After not surrendering a deep ball all game long, we gave up TWO in fifty seconds. It looked like blown coverages on both plays, which is unusual for this group. Thankfully, the offense clutched up after winning the coin toss, and we escaped with the win.

I do have to give Denver their due. In February, there was no doubt in my mind that we were the better team taking the field in New Jersey, and the Hawks exceeded my expectations that day. Seven months later, on this day, I'd have to say that Denver has not only closed the gap, they may have passed us. Every single move they made this past off season has worked out just the way they had hoped. Emmanuel Sanders is a significant upgrade over Eric Decker, and Aqib Talib and Demarcus Ware have provided exactly what they wanted. Both made huge plays to set up their 4th quarter comeback. Right now, I'd give them a slight edge over Cincinnati for AFC supremacy, with the QB being the big difference between the two.

Our offense frustrated me today. In regulation, they played exactly a half a quarter of good football. The rest of the time, they allowed the Broncos to dictate to them. To their credit, they had a good plan and worked it well...keep Russell Wilson contained in the pocket and crowd the box. I expected us to take some more shots down field, but it didn't happen. The one time we did resulted in a touchdown.

We seem to be running Percy Harvin exclusively on screens and crosses. I'm surprised we haven't used him vertically more often, but I feel that's eventually going to come, provided that he can stay on the field for the entire season. Marshawn ran hard, per usual. It may look ugly at times, but I love the fact that we never, ever quit on the run. As David Diehl, Fox color analyst so ELOQUENTLY put it last week (twice), Lynch was our "cowbell" today! :sarcasm_on:

The offensive line continues to struggle in pass protection. Poor Justin Britt had a very long day, attempting to block Von Miller and Demarcus Ware. We have to chip for him a lot more than we did, because he's struggling over there. The pass protection has been an ongoing issue for many years now, and we absolutely can't afford to lose Wilson.

Defensively, I can't complain. With the exception of the final drive, they imposed their will on Denver again. We forced two turnovers, which could have easily been four or five. I found it odd that Earl Thomas's name didn't get called a whole lot today, but then again, neither did the Thomas boys on the other side of the ball.

I have to say, looking at the schedule when it came out, when I saw we were facing three of the best quarterbacks in the league to start the season, I was secretly hoping we could win two out of three, and that's what we have done. Now we get a little break, and our defense should have a much easier time over the next month and a half. We get the bye week to fix some offensive issues, then go beat the hell out of Washington on Monday night. Works for me!

Hawks rule, cuz THE TABS and LES SAID SO!!!!

Agree with about everything you said, except for Denver being as good as us, they were fortunate to be that close.

 

[Exittium]

I'm counting my blessings after this one. For some strange reason, this actually feels like a loss to me. I didn't think there was any way possible that a team could score 8 points in less than a minute with no time outs and 80 yards of real estate to cover, but I saw it with my own eyes. After not surrendering a deep ball all game long, we gave up TWO in fifty seconds. It looked like blown coverages on both plays, which is unusual for this group. Thankfully, the offense clutched up after winning the coin toss, and we escaped with the win.

I do have to give Denver their due. In February, there was no doubt in my mind that we were the better team taking the field in New Jersey, and the Hawks exceeded my expectations that day. Seven months later, on this day, I'd have to say that Denver has not only closed the gap, they may have passed us. Every single move they made this past off season has worked out just the way they had hoped. Emmanuel Sanders is a significant upgrade over Eric Decker, and Aqib Talib and Demarcus Ware have provided exactly what they wanted. Both made huge plays to set up their 4th quarter comeback. Right now, I'd give them a slight edge over Cincinnati for AFC supremacy, with the QB being the big difference between the two.

Our offense frustrated me today. In regulation, they played exactly a half a quarter of good football. The rest of the time, they allowed the Broncos to dictate to them. To their credit, they had a good plan and worked it well...keep Russell Wilson contained in the pocket and crowd the box. I expected us to take some more shots down field, but it didn't happen. The one time we did resulted in a touchdown.

We seem to be running Percy Harvin exclusively on screens and crosses. I'm surprised we haven't used him vertically more often, but I feel that's eventually going to come, provided that he can stay on the field for the entire season. Marshawn ran hard, per usual. It may look ugly at times, but I love the fact that we never, ever quit on the run. As David Diehl, Fox color analyst so ELOQUENTLY put it last week (twice), Lynch was our "cowbell" today! :sarcasm_on:

The offensive line continues to struggle in pass protection. Poor Justin Britt had a very long day, attempting to block Von Miller and Demarcus Ware. We have to chip for him a lot more than we did, because he's struggling over there. The pass protection has been an ongoing issue for many years now, and we absolutely can't afford to lose Wilson.

Defensively, I can't complain. With the exception of the final drive, they imposed their will on Denver again. We forced two turnovers, which could have easily been four or five. I found it odd that Earl Thomas's name didn't get called a whole lot today, but then again, neither did the Thomas boys on the other side of the ball.

I have to say, looking at the schedule when it came out, when I saw we were facing three of the best quarterbacks in the league to start the season, I was secretly hoping we could win two out of three, and that's what we have done. Now we get a little break, and our defense should have a much easier time over the next month and a half. We get the bye week to fix some offensive issues, then go beat the hell out of Washington on Monday night. Works for me!

Hawks rule, cuz THE TABS and LES SAID SO!!!!

Agree with about everything you said, except for Denver being as good as us, they were fortunate to be that close.

They're broke to be that close, however the 1st half I saw no difference between this game and the SB. The 2nd half of this game we let up and it came back to bite us and almost fatally. In the SB we didn't let up and kept the gas pedal pressed

 

[WilsonMVP]

I wish Lynch would of been in petes ear today
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CF22hS7LaI8[/youtube]

Can we score more points?

Can we?

Can we?

I just wanted to make sure

 

[THE TABS]

Have to admit, as much as I've expressed my concern for our offense, when I look around the league, suddenly, I don't feel so bad. The Patriots and Packers both look like crap, and Carolina is downright UGLY.

Then there are the Niners... :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[zhawk]

word! :49ersmall:

 

[FlyingGreg]

I'm also frustrated with how Bevell is using Harvin. He is too cute.

Where in the heck is Luke Willson in this offense? He is non existent.

It's early... Lots of room for development. Crazy that 4 of Wilson's 6 TD passes are to the backs, and none to Harvin, Baldwin, Kearse, Miller or Willson.

 

[zhawk]

I'm also frustrated with how Bevell is using Harvin. He is too cute.

Where in the heck is Luke Willson in this offense? He is non existent.

It's early... Lots of room for development. Crazy that 4 of Wilson's 6 TD passes are to the backs, and none to Harvin, Baldwin, Kearse, Miller or Willson.

Definite room for improvement....think about what is to come! Repeat?

 

[Hawks46]

Watch out Tabs, the "a win is a win" crowd will start insulting your football intelligence and calling you Blitzer and Tokadub if you try to find anything wrong with a Win.

Personally, I agree with you. Funny thing is, I read a recap of the game. I had thought we had a 17-3 halftime lead.

We actually held that lead all the way until the 4th quarter. So we blew a 14 pt lead in the last quarter. But hey, don't worry, be happy.

(and yes, we still look better than a lot of teams)

 

[kearly]

I thought Britt was alright considering that's he's a rookie RT going up against a couple of storied pass rushers. His run blocking played a significant role in the game winning TD run too.

I'm not criticizing the OP, but I don't understand the "felt like a loss" crowd. Look at the stats. Seattle dominated this game. They won everything. Total yards, yards per play, turnovers, time of possession (by a LOT), first downs, 3rd down conversion rate, points scored... If Denver had won this because of a few mistakes by Seattle at the end they would have stolen a win.

Let's not forget that Denver is a really good football team, their DVOA under Manning is dynasty level. They gave us their best shot and still fell short.

 

[HawKnPeppa]

You had to have been around back in the early years of .net, Kearly. Tabs writes entertaining pieces with, err...let's call it 'minimal' research. It's sort of 'here's my general feeling from this game, now I'm going to fill in the blanks with conjecture and more generalization.' Still entertaining though.

 

[THE TABS]

TABS, you really should stick around more.

Admit it, you never would have said that ten years ago. :mrgreen:

 

[Uncle Si]

I thought Britt was alright considering that's he's a rookie RT going up against a couple of storied pass rushers. His run blocking played a significant role in the game winning TD run too.

I'm not criticizing the OP, but I don't understand the "felt like a loss" crowd. Look at the stats. Seattle dominated this game. They won everything. Total yards, yards per play, turnovers, time of possession (by a LOT), first downs, 3rd down conversion rate, points scored... If Denver had won this because of a few mistakes by Seattle at the end they would have stolen a win.

Let's not forget that Denver is a really good football team, their DVOA under Manning is dynasty level. They gave us their best shot and still fell short.

My sentiments too... Picking apart the win should really be left for Tuesday or Wednesday. Enjoy it Sunday?

Anyways... I remember the Holmgren era, that loss to the Rams at home, the Ravens game away (their are countless others that just blur together) It just felt like the Hawks were always destined to lose it at the end.

Despite this team doing their best to make it interesting... (it wasnt nearly as close as it seemed. Lynch's failure to score a TD early, the missed FG, uncharistically poor defending late on, etc. etc.) the team still has that resolve to see it out.

Thats a quality that is special to this group of players. Even if we "try" and lose it, we still struggle to.

Credit to the Broncos by the way. at 17-3, I expected this game to end no less than 20-10.

and... Russel..

 

[brimsalabim]

Chris Carter and Golic just broke down that last Denver drive and attributed it to a hole in our defensive deep cover scheme that is exposed only when we do not generate pressure on the QB. According to both of them it was not the db's but the pass rush (or lack of) on that series. Carter said that usually QB's can't hold the ball enough for that delay route to open up. We will need to fix that.

 

[SeatownJay]

TABS, you really should stick around more.

Admit it, you never would have said that ten years ago. :mrgreen:

I've always found you entertaining, even if you're wrong. I still remember "If Matt Hasselbeck is the answer, what the hell is the question?".

 

[Jacknut16]

I'm also frustrated with how Bevell is using Harvin. He is too cute.

Where in the heck is Luke Willson in this offense? He is non existent.

It's early... Lots of room for development. Crazy that 4 of Wilson's 6 TD passes are to the backs, and none to Harvin, Baldwin, Kearse, Miller or Willson.

The passing game seems like it consisted of roll outs, more roll outs, Wilson scramblling backwards, mixed in with a few nice throws.

I would LOVE to see more 3 step drops get rid of it, throw it away if nothing is there type plays.

Its EXTREMELY hard to block for a QB who is always on the move. A lineman really cant help Wilson much when he scrambles to the outside of the pocket, so we are left with Wilson trying to do much of it on his own. A lineman also is at a disadvantage when he is always wondering in the back of his mind "where is my QB going to be"
Its the reason why blocking for Manning or Rivers is much easier than Wilson.

But Wilson makes plays with his legs for key first downs so you dont want to ruin that at the same time. Im just saying its a give and take. You dont get to have a wildly mobile scrambling QB and have great protection at the same time. NFL defenders are just way to skilled to have it both ways.

Im willing to have a few more incomplete passes if we would be more content with him saying in the pocket and delivering the ball.

Even if they are low percentage passes such as the Lockette TD.

Then at the end of games, playoffs in OT, let him run the ball at an increased rate.

 

[Ad Hawk]

I'm also frustrated with how Bevell is using Harvin. He is too cute.

Where in the heck is Luke Willson in this offense? He is non existent.

It's early... Lots of room for development. Crazy that 4 of Wilson's 6 TD passes are to the backs, and none to Harvin, Baldwin, Kearse, Miller or Willson.

The passing game seems like it consisted of roll outs, more roll outs, Wilson scramblling backwards, mixed in with a few nice throws.

I would LOVE to see more 3 step drops get rid of it, throw it away if nothing is there type plays.

Its EXTREMELY hard to block for a QB who is always on the move. A lineman really cant help Wilson much when he scrambles to the outside of the pocket, so we are left with Wilson trying to do much of it on his own. A lineman also is at a disadvantage when he is always wondering in the back of his mind "where is my QB going to be"
Its the reason why blocking for Manning or Rivers is much easier than Wilson.

But Wilson makes plays with his legs for key first downs so you dont want to ruin that at the same time. Im just saying its a give and take. You dont get to have a wildly mobile scrambling QB and have great protection at the same time. NFL defenders are just way to skilled to have it both ways.

Im willing to have a few more incomplete passes if we would be more content with him saying in the pocket and delivering the ball.

Even if they are low percentage passes such as the Lockette TD.

Then at the end of games, playoffs in OT, let him run the ball at an increased rate.

In other words, you want a pocket-passer, and are dissatisfied with the role Russel plays, one that has already taken us to a superbowl championship.

M-kay, then.

 

[taco40]

The offensive line continues to struggle in pass protection. Poor Justin Britt had a very long day, attempting to block Von Miller and Demarcus Ware. We have to chip for him a lot more than we did, because he's struggling over there. The pass protection has been an ongoing issue for many years now, and we absolutely can't afford to lose Wilson.

I was impressed by how well Britt played today. I don't remember any holding calls, (not that the refereeing today was stellar) and I noticed that he was often not helped to double-team the end. I can't blame one of the sacks on Britt because Wilson, when running up the middle, got in arms reach of Britt's guys (Ware?) Denver has a much improved DL and he's playing in his third reg. season game and holding his own.

 

[HawkFan72]

TABS, I've missed posts like this. Please keep it up!